• Born in Genoa, Ventura started his playing and coaching careers in the youth system of Sampdoria. As a midfielder he made nine appearances for Sicilian outfit Enna in Serie C, the highest level he played at.

• Began coaching in the Sampdoria academy in 1976 and worked for several teams in the lower divisions before finally making his Serie A debut more than two decades later after leading Cagliari to promotion in 1998. He had done the same the previous season with Lecce, only to be replaced by Cesare Prandelli before the campaign started.

• He continued to move between posts in Serie A and Serie B, but his stock rose considerably after he replaced Antonio Conte at Bari ahead of the 2009/10 season. Ventura guided Bari to tenth place with a club record 50 points in Serie A, drawing twice against José Mourinho's FC Internazionale Milano and defeating Juventus 3-1.

• In 2011 he accepted the call from Torino, then in Serie B. "I could take a mid-table team in Serie A but trying to take Torino back to Serie A is the real libido," he famously said. He not only achieved that but also led the Granata into Europe. Under Ventura, Torino reached the UEFA Europa League round of 16 in 2014/15 after a memorable 3-2 win at Athletic Club.

• After becoming the trainer with most consecutive games on the Torino bench (217), third overall behind Luigi Radice and Emiliano Mondonico, Ventura was announced as Conte's successor as Italy coach in June 2016.

• Served apprenticeship as an academy coach and on the lower rungs of the Italian football ladder before making his name overseeing back-to-back promotions at Modena – guiding them from the third division to Serie A in 2002. It ended a 38-year absence from the top flight.

• Helped Modena survive first season among the elite before moving to Brescia, where he stayed two years before embarking on a tumultuous spell at Torino in 2005.

• Arrived with Torino picking up the pieces after bankruptcy and exceeded expectations by steering them back to Serie A in his first campaign, only to be replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni three days before the start of the next term. He was reappointed within seven months, leading the Granata to safety.

• Spent 2007/08 at Levante, winning plaudits despite relegation, then returned for a third stint at Torino with five games of the season remaining and saved them from relegation again. Sacked that December, he had a two-month reign at Udinese in 2009/10 before finding more constancy as Albania boss.

• A one-time midfielder with a handful of top-flight playing campaigns under his belt, De Biasi was installed in December 2011 as successor to Josip Kuže. He signed a new deal running until the end of UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying in November 2013, and promptly led the team to the finals for the first time, Albania only narrowly missing out on the last 16 in France after a memorable win against Romania in their final game.

Referee

Slavko Vinčič

FIFA Wold Cup matches involving teams from the two countries involved in this match

No such matches refereed

Other matches involving teams from either of the two countries involved in this match

Date

Competition

Stage reached

Home

Away

Result

Venue

08/05/2013

U17

GS-FT

Ukraine

Italy

1-2

Nitra

06/11/2014

UEL

GS

AS Saint-Étienne

FC Internazionale Milano

1-1

Saint-Etienne

15/09/2016

UEL

GS

PAOK FC

ACF Fiorentina

0-0

Salonika

Last updated 05/07/2017 16:21CET

Competition factsOnly this chapter

The Week of Football concept enables fans around the world to enjoy the very best action from the European Qualifiers – which will determine UEFA's representatives at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup comprises nine groups of six teams, with matches played on a home-and-away basis.

Qualifying takes place under the 'Week of Football' concept, introduced ahead of the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying campaign, in which games are spread out from Thursday to Tuesday, shining the spotlight on more teams on the road to the finals in Russia. Moreover, thanks to the Week of Football, at least 43% of matches will be played on weekends, giving fans a better chance to follow the action on television, in the stadiums and on UEFA.com.

Kick-off times will be set mainly at 18:00CET and 20:45CET on Saturdays and Sundays and at 20:45CET for Thursdays, Fridays, Mondays and Tuesdays. In double-header matchweeks, sides will play on Thursday/Sunday, Friday/Monday or Saturday/Tuesday. Each day of the Week of Football will feature eight to ten games.

The nine group winners will qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight best runners-up will contest play-offs to decide the last four qualifiers for the finals.

The 13 qualifiers then join hosts Russia in the finals to make it 14 UEFA member associations represented.

Statistics

-: Denotes player substituted

+: Denotes player introduced

*: Denotes player sent off

+/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted

Squad list

D: Disciplinary

*: Misses next match if booked

S: Suspended

Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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